UK government to announce date of state pension age rise won’t be brought forward- here’s current age

The announcement is to be made to MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday (March 30, 2023)
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The UK government is today expected to announce that the date for when the state pension will rise will not be brought forward. The announcement is to be made by Works and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride.

Plans to bring forward the date of when the increased age comes into effect were due to be confirmed , but the government is set to u-turn on this. As a result, the age will remain as it is until 2046 - for now at least.

The announcement from the secretary is set to outline why the decision has been made, and this will be because now is not the time to make the change. Any decision on the date of the new age will be left until after the next election.

The current age at which people in the UK can begin receiving their state pension is 66 for both men and women. However, changes to this means that the age is set to rise to 68 within the next 25 years.

Discussion around altering the state pension age in the UK is a stark contrast to the reaction of similar planned changes in France. Their current retirement age is 62, but the government is planning on increasing this to 64.

The people of France have carried out widespread protests against these plans. Yet in response, President Emmanuel Macron has labelled the planned reforms as not “luxury” but “a necessity.”

What is a state pension?

Changes to the state pension age are commonChanges to the state pension age are common
Changes to the state pension age are common

The state pension is a regular payment which people can receive from the government once they reach the retirement age. The age differs depending on when you were born- something you can check using the UK government’s state pension age calculator.

According to Citizens Advice, The amount of State Pension you’ll get depends on how many ‘qualifying’ years of National Insurance payments you have. This includes National Insurance contributions that you pay when you are working and contributions that are credited to you when you are unable to work.